A British mother has spoken out about her agony at not being able to hold her 13-month-old baby before he was taken away by social services, only to be murdered by the woman trying to adopt him months later. Laura Corkill gave birth to Leiland-James Corkill in December 2019, but the baby was taken away within 48 hours after social services deemed Corkill unable to care for him properly. Leiland-James’ prospective adoptive mother, Laura Castle, was convicted and jailed for the child’s murder in May. Corkill, in an interview with BBC Radio 4, recounted the shock of first being told her son had been hurt. She said she was notified her baby was in a hospital after supposedly falling off a sofa in January 2021, but she wasn’t told where her son was until it was too late. “By the time I got down there, he’d already been dead,” she said. “I just froze to begin with.” She added: “Eventually I went into his room and I just wanted to pick him up, but they wouldn’t allow me.” Castle, who had been chosen to look after Leiland-James by local authorities, initially said the injuries that killed the baby were the result of an accident, before later saying she’d shaken him because he wouldn’t stop crying. Texts between Castle and her husband were said to have shown the pair referring to Leiland-James as a “shit bag” and “dick baby.” Castle was convicted of murder and child cruelty in May.